13 Classic Candies Every 1960s Lunchbox Included That Are Nearly Extinct Today

Open a 1960s lunchbox and you would likely find a sweet surprise tucked next to the sandwich. Candy was a daily ritual back then, and kids traded, hoarded, and savored their favorites. Some of those treats were strange, some were sticky, and a few would never fly with parents today. Over the years, tastes changed, companies folded, and many of these once-loved candies quietly disappeared. A handful still exist in tiny amounts, but most are now just fuzzy memories. Here are thirteen classic candies that filled 1960s lunchboxes and have nearly vanished from the world for good.

1. Candy Cigarettes

These chalky white candy sticks were made to look just like real cigarettes, sometimes with a red tip and even a puff of powdered sugar smoke. Kids loved pretending to be grown-ups, holding them between their fingers. Back then, nobody thought twice about it. Today, the idea of handing kids fake cigarettes feels wildly off, and that is exactly why they faded away. Health concerns and changing attitudes pushed them out of stores almost everywhere. A few versions still exist under different names, but the classic candy cigarette is now a rare and slightly shocking relic of a very different era.

2. Wax Lips

Wax lips were big, bright red wax shapes you held in your mouth to make funny, oversized lips. They were more of a toy than a treat, since you chewed the flavorless wax for a bit and then spit it out. Kids found them hilarious at parties and in lunchboxes. The fun was all about the goofy look, not the taste. As candy got more focused on actual flavor, these waxy novelties lost their appeal. They still pop up around Halloween occasionally, but the everyday wax lips that once filled lunchboxes have mostly disappeared from store shelves.

3. Wax Bottles

Known as Nik-L-Nips, these were tiny wax bottles filled with a small sip of sweet, syrupy juice. You bit off the top, drank the colorful liquid, and then chewed the leftover wax like gum. Kids loved the two-in-one fun of a drink and a chew. The flavors were simple and super sweet. As tastes shifted toward bigger, more flavorful candies, these little wax bottles faded into the background. They still exist in small batches for nostalgia fans, but they are no longer the lunchbox staple they once were. Most kids today have never even seen one.

4. Candy Buttons

Candy buttons were tiny dots of sugar stuck in rows on a long strip of paper. You peeled them off with your teeth, often getting a bit of paper stuck to the candy. The flavor was basically just sweet, with faint hints of color. The fun was in the peeling and the colorful rows. They were cheap, simple, and everywhere in the 1960s. Over time, kids wanted candy with real flavor and less hassle, and the paper-eating problem did not help. Candy buttons still exist here and there, but they have become a rare nostalgic find rather than a daily treat.

5. Necco Wafers

These chalky, pastel-colored discs came in a roll and had a distinct, old-fashioned taste that people either loved or hated. Each color was a different flavor, from licorice to chocolate to wintergreen. They were a true classic, around for generations and a lunchbox regular in the 1960s. The texture was dry, and the flavors were unusual by modern standards. When the company that made them ran into trouble, the wafers nearly vanished completely. Fans panicked and stockpiled rolls. They have made small comebacks since, but the steady, everyday presence Necco Wafers once enjoyed is long gone now.

6. Bonomo Turkish Taffy

This was a flat bar of hard taffy that you were supposed to smack against a table to shatter into pieces. It came in flavors like vanilla, chocolate, and banana, and the smacking ritual was half the fun. Kids loved breaking it apart and letting the shards soften in their mouths. It was chewy, sweet, and a little bit of a workout for your jaw. Over the years, it disappeared from shelves as the company changed hands. There have been a few revival attempts, but the classic bar that 1960s kids smacked and shared has mostly faded into memory.

7. Black Jack Gum

Black Jack was a black licorice-flavored chewing gum that turned your tongue dark while you chewed. It had a strong, distinct anise taste that stood out from regular mint gums. Kids in the 1960s found it both fun and a little weird, and the tongue-darkening effect was a bonus party trick. The bold flavor was not for everyone. As mint and fruit gums took over, this old-school licorice gum slowly lost its place. It still gets brought back occasionally in limited runs for nostalgia, but for most of the year, it is nearly impossible to find.

8. Sky Bar

The Sky Bar was a chocolate bar split into four sections, each with a different filling, such as caramel, vanilla, peanut, or fudge. It was clever because you got four flavors in one bar, almost like a sampler. Kids enjoyed biting into each section to see which filling they liked best. It was a fun twist on the standard chocolate bar. While it managed to survive longer than many others, it became increasingly difficult to find over the decades. Today it shows up only in select shops and online, a far cry from the lunchbox regular it used to be.

9. Chum Gum

Chum Gum was a cheap, simple stick of chewing gum that came in plain wrappers and sold for next to nothing. It was the kind of everyday gum kids grabbed without much thought, perfect for a quick chew at lunch. The flavor was basic and faded fast, but the low price made it a constant in pockets and lunchboxes. As bigger brands with longer-lasting flavor took over the market, plain budget gums like this one could not compete. Chum Gum quietly disappeared, becoming one of those forgotten little treats that only older folks seem to remember at all.

10. Beemans Gum

Beemans was a gum flavored with a hint of pepsin, giving it a unique taste that fans swore by. It was originally marketed as helping with digestion way back when. By the 1960s, it was a beloved chew with a loyal following who loved its distinct, slightly spicy flavor. It stood apart from the usual mint options. Over time, it got discontinued, brought back, and discontinued again as demand shrank. Today it is extremely hard to find and mostly survives through nostalgic memories and the occasional limited revival. The steady supply that 1960s kids enjoyed is now basically gone.

11. Clark’s Teaberry Gum

Teaberry Gum had a sweet, slightly minty flavor that came from the teaberry plant, giving it a taste unlike anything on shelves today. It was pink, distinctive, and tied to a famous little dance jingle in ads. Kids and adults alike enjoyed its one-of-a-kind flavor in the 1960s. The taste was hard to describe but easy to love for fans. As flavor trends shifted toward standard mint and fruit flavors, this unusual gum lost ground. It still exists in very limited amounts, treasured by those who remember it, but it has become a genuinely rare find that most younger people have never tried.

12. Marathon Bar

The Marathon Bar was a long, braided rope of chocolate-covered caramel, famous for taking a while to eat because of its stretched-out shape. The packaging even had a ruler printed on the back to show its length. Kids loved the novelty of the extra-long candy and the chewy, satisfying caramel. It was as much about the fun shape as the taste. Despite its popularity, it was discontinued and vanished from American shelves. A similar bar exists overseas under a different name, but the classic Marathon that 1960s and later kids adored is long gone here.

13. Flicks Chocolate Wafers

Flicks were round chocolate wafers stacked inside a colorful foil tube that you peeled open one disc at a time. The fun was in the packaging as much as the smooth chocolate inside. Kids loved popping open the tube and sliding out each little wafer. The foil cylinder felt special and a bit fancy compared to a plain bar. As tastes and packaging styles changed, these charming chocolate tubes slowly disappeared from most stores. They occasionally show up in specialty candy shops for nostalgia seekers, but the everyday Flicks that once filled 1960s lunchboxes are now a rare treat.

• Tags:
• Vintage Candy
• 1960s Nostalgia
• Retro Treats
• Candy History
• Lunchbox Memories